history essay

Leslie A. Mercedes Lopez

ESL 100

March 9, 2015

An account of the past

            There are many types of violence. One of the most common is domestic violence. Thirty years ago my grandmother married the love of her life. She thought everything was going to be magical like her mother told her, but it was not like that. Over time, things started to change, and her relationship became full of violence, verbal and physical. When my aunt was twenty-one years old, the oldest at that time, she decided to marry a United States citizen and bring my grandmother with her, so that she could get away from that terrible situation that was affecting the whole family. Everybody knows that marriage was made for love not to abuse others. As my grandmother came to the United States, her life started to change for good. There was nothing that could stop her from getting the best in this country of opportunities.

             Also, my grandmother’s bad experiences and difficulties made her immigrate to the United States for better opportunities and to recover from the violence. Leaving her family in the Dominican Republic was really hard for her, but it was the best decision she could ever make. My grandmother was a fighter. She would do anything she could to protect her family from everything. Immigrating to the United States helped her to overcome her frustrations and depression, and at the same time she became stronger and happier. I will be happy to as my mom about my grandmother’s past. My mom always told me, “Your grandmother was amazing. She became the happiest and strongest member of the family after that bad situation”. My mom’s tears came out in each word she tells me. It was as if she was in my grandmother’s body and she could feel all the happiness of finally being a free person without abuse. My mom also told me that my grandmother’s words were full of happiness and smiles. They were able to notice through her voice.

          Moreover, my grandmother had an opportunity to begin a new life and career in the United States without violence. As my grandmother started to get stronger, her economic situation started to improve. After three years of being here, she was finally able to create a small beauty business inside her house only for family and friends. Approximately after two more years, she was able to summit the immigration papers for her children, so they could be here with her in the United States and have better opportunities. My grandmother was a nice stylist. She started her beauty business doing her oldest daughter hair and nails and then with friends of the family. She was happy that she was sable to pay bills and buy food with the money she was making in her small business. The United States was really the country of success in her life. She got everything she needed and nothing could stop her from doing what she liked and enjoyed to do.

            Nevertheless, as she got older, my grandmother begin to lose her strength and will to live. This made things change again, because there was no way to help her. My grandmother started to get sick to the point that she was not able to stand up from her bed or do anything by herself. Problems with her heart, asthma, and diabetes started to surface. This was something that had a big impact on my family.  After all the members of the family started to create their own lives in different places, she started to get worse. The slow separation of her family was the reason of her sickness, because she brought her family to the United States to be together not for everybody to go alone on their lives and never came back to visit her. When she was finally very ill, everybody decided to come a visit. As a result of this, my family thought my grandmother was only waiting for them to come and visit her again so that she could rest in peace because after they came back, she died a week later. The way my grandmother used to act and face obstacles was admirable for the entire family.

            Her immigration to the United States, the difficulties of beginning a new life and overcoming the obstacles make her the woman my family and I will always remember. That woman fought for a better future not just for her, but for her family. My grandmother’s decisions were admirable and it is just awesome to know how a little bit of help changed her life completely and made her a better woman. It is inspiring to see how a woman can take out good things from a bad experience. There is nothing that can change the image of that fighting woman from my head. She will always be in my mind as the bravest person I have ever met.